Born in Cartagena, Colombia, I moved to the Lower East Side of Manhattan with my parents and older sister when I was 6. I was thrown into an all-English speaking class at a local elementary school and had to quickly adapt. I encountered wonderful teachers who pushed and helped guide me, and after a few years, I was recommended for the Math and Science Institute (MSI) Program at Stuyvesant High School, a two-year enrichment program. After obtaining exceptionally high grades on my city-wide math and reading exams, I was accepted into another wonderful mentoring program, this one called the Albert G. Oliver (AGO) Scholarship. I attended both MSI and AGO classes on weekends, after school, and during the summers.

My years of studying paid off when I was accepted at Groton School and offered a full scholarship. I visited the campus and saw that this was the opportunity of a lifetime, to experience one of the best educations that the country had to offer. Although my parents didn’t want me going away, I persuaded them that this was the reason they had brought me to America.

I began a four-year experience that would change my life, arriving on campus with an open mind and an open heart. While at Groton, I led the Student Step team and the Multicultural Alliance, presented many Martin Luther King Day events for the School, started a salsa dance team that performed at several Parents Weekends, sang in the Gospel Choir, and served as an Admissions tour guide and a lower school prefect.

After Groton, I attended Hamilton College in upstate New York where I continued my involvement in community service while studying public policy and economics. My years at Groton prepared me well for Hamilton’s academics, as well as a career in Corporate America. I currently work as an underwriting manager for CorPro Underwriting Managers, am obtaining my MBA from Fordham University, and volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York helping the next generation of under-privileged children have the type of positive influence in their lives that I was lucky enough to have as a child.

Groton provided me not only a first class education but also a group of lifelong friends from around the globe. None of this would have been possible without the generous scholarship I was awarded; I am forever thankful.